Great Britain at the 2001 Federation Cup

Great Britain has been participating in Federation Cup right from the first tournament, which was held in 1963. Since 1963 Great Britain has participated in all the editions of Federation Cup. On its debut, Great Britain reached the semifinals but fell to the arch rivals the United States. Great Britain Fed Cup team has managed to reach the finals on four occasions but could never clinch the title. It first entered the finals in the year 1967 but lost the tie by 0-2 to the United States. Great Britain’s recent finals appearance was in 1981 where they again fell to the United States. Lawn Tennis Association administers the Great Britain Fed Cup team. The 2001 Federation Cup was the 39th episode of the most eminent tournament for women. Great Britain at the 2001 Federation Cup displayed dismal performance.

Great Britain at the 2001 Federation Cup participated in the tournament from Europe – African Zone and was placed in group 1 along with Belarus, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Israel, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. Sweden shocked Great Britain in the opening round robin tie, completing 3-0 victory on clay court at Murcia. This defeat pushed Great Britain on the back foot. In the second round robin tie against Romania, Great Britain’s efforts could not fetch the victory. Romania cruised past Great Britain 2-1. Great Britain’s hopes were demolished when Belarus scratched out a 2-1 victory in the last round robin tie.

Great Britain at the 2001 Federation Cup could not perform up to their standard. It lost all the ties, it played. This type of lackluster performance was certainly unfitting to their calibre and was in poor taste. Their poor show relegated them to the group 2 in 2002 Fed Cup.